WATERLOO, ONT. \u2013 More than 400 entries for the annual Skills Ontario pin and medal design contests were received and the winning two have now been announced.<\/p>\n
This year, the winning pin design was created by Catarina Shanhan-Alcatara, a Grade 12 student at Saint Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School in the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board. The winning medal design was created by Anna Ngo, a Grade 9 student at Cathedral High School from the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board.<\/p>\n
The designs by Shanhan-Alcatara and Ngo will be inspiration for the 2026 pin and medals that will be handed out during the 2026 Skills Ontario Competition on May 4 and 5 at the Toronto Congress Centre, explains a release.<\/p>\n
Each winner will also receive a plaque to recognize their accomplishments at the Skills Ontario Competition Closing Ceremony on the morning of May 6.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI designed the pin for the Ontario Skills Competition and I\u2019m really excited to see something I created be part of such an amazing event,\u201d said Shanhan-Alcatara, founder of the charity No Peanuts Please, a youth-led initiative that raises awareness for anaphylaxis through community education, school outreach, fundraising and local business partnerships.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Skills Ontario Pin & Medal Design Contest takes place each September and encourages students in high schools (Grades 9-12) or colleges\/training delivery agents in Ontario to submit a custom design based on the theme of the skilled trades and technologies, the release explains.<\/p>\n The pins and medals handed out at the Skills Ontario Competition have been inspired by student designs since 1992.<\/p>\n \u201cAs part of a longstanding tradition, pin designs from the Skills Ontario Competition are traded with other competitors during national and international competitions as part of a giant pin exchange,\u201d the release adds.<\/p>\n Started in 1989, the Skills Ontario Competition is the largest skilled trades and technology event in Canada featuring over 75-plus contests for elementary, secondary, post-secondary students and apprentices across the province.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/cc-production-uploads-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/winning-pin-designweb.png\")